The Cypress Lake Center for the Arts' two-year-old a capella choir is recognized as the best in the state since a competition last month in Lakeland. Now it’s raising money to travel to a regional competition in Georgia. As Kathleen Moye reports, it’s not the typical high school choir. (AUDIO)

The Charlotte County’s Sheriff’s Office has added two new detectives to its Economic Crimes Unit. Janette Janero explains. (AUDIO)

Red tide and Red Drift Algae – the connection between the two – was on the agenda Monday at a a conference on the health of the Gulf of Mexico. Valerie Alker has more. (AUDIO)

About 500 frustrated hurricane victims showed up at a town hall meeting in Punta Gorda Saturday to complain to Florida's chief financial officer about their home insurance situations. (AUDIO)

Last week’s high profile courthouse shooting in Atlanta may spark changes in southwest Florida. A man on trial for rape opened fire Friday in the Fulton County Courthouse killing a judge, a court reporter, and a deputy. A spokesman for southwest Florida’s 20th judicial circuit says security reviews are always on-going. Ken Kellum is a deputy court administrator.

“Security reviews are a normal part of operations for us. But, certainly in the light of what happened up there, we’ll review what we do and make sure it can’t or won’t occur here.”

Kellum says—in the 20th judicial circuit—court security is provided by sheriff’s deputies as well as contractors like Wackenhut and Wells Fargo.

POLITICAL BLOGS HAVE BEEN ON THE INTERNET FOR YEARS. BUT THEY'RE NOW ALL THE RAGE IN CONGRESS! AN INCREASING NUMBER OF LAWMAKERS—INCLUDING ONE FROM FLORIDA—ARE POSTING BLOGS ON THEIR HOUSE AND SENATE WEBSITES. CHAD PERGRAM REPORTS FROM OUR CAPITOL HILL BUREAU. (AUDIO)

World peace, international trade, global climate change and atomic energy… not the topics one would normally associate with teenagers. But, all were front and center at the 12th Annual Southwest Florida Model United Nations conference. More than 300 of the area’s brightest high school students gathered at Florida Gulf Coast University to test their communication and negotiation skills in a simulation of the UN. Twenty high schools participated. Each student represents one country. Lemon Bay High School Junior - Laura Davis – spoke for Ivory Coast on the question of international intervention.

“The Ivory Coast of course is having a lot of problems right now in Africa of the militia fighting…could we go in there and help them? Because half their government is corrupt…it’s split. Do we have the right as other nations to go in there? And of course I’m going to oppose because you know, I don’t really want them trying to run my own country. However, do other nations have the right to come in there?”

Davis refers to the strife in Ivory Coast… where rebel militiamen have controlled half the country for the past 18 months. She says fellow delegates passed a resolution against her country.
The Naples Council on World Affairs developed the Southwest Florida Model UN in 1989. The council provides volunteer judges to evaluate student performance…and awards scholarships to top student delegates.

Last summer a Sanibel woman lost her life shortly after a 12-foot long alligator attacked her in her yard on the island. Now a group of Sanibel school-aged problem solvers are creating a coloring book to educate people how to live safely with dangerous reptiles nearby. Heather Caputo reports. (AUDIO)

Florida might have its smallest orange crop in 13 years. State agriculture officials have downsized the estimated 2005 orange harvest – they say it will be 810 million pounds less than previously forecast. Officials say the revision is the result of smaller fruit size and fruit dropping off tress because of last year’s hurricanes. Some growers took a big hit, but overall, George Austin, with The Gulf Citrus Growers Association, says the reduction is actually good for the industry –

“We’ll probably see a little further increase in the price of late oranges, valencia oranges and the other thing it will give us an opportunity to work off some of the excess inventory we’ve built up in the past couple years.”

The vast majority of florida’s orange crop is processed into juice, and consumers can expect to pay higher prices that commodity. Meanwhile the grapefruit forecast remains unchanged – experts have said it will be the smallest crop in nearly seventy years.

A bill—moving through the Florida Legislature —would require a special hearing to determine if violent criminals who violate probation should be allowed to stay out of jail. It’s called a “danger to the community” hearing… and it’s part of the “Anti-Murder Act of 2005.” The bill sailed through the House Criminal Justice Committee Monday with unanimous approval… but must still gain House and Senate support. Florida Attorney General – Charlie Crist – says last year’s abduction and murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in Sarasota prompted the bill.

“The individual who committed that crime had already gone to jail in Florida for a violent act. They were serving their time and had completed doing so, were put on probation…violated their probation, went before a judge who let them continue to stay out…and then he went and visited Carlie.”

The Anti-Murder Act is co-sponsored by Representative Bruce Kyle – a Fort Myers Republican…and Republican Senator Rudy Garcia, of Miami-Dade. If passed, the bill would require a judge to sign a written order stating any violent criminal who violated their probation is NOT a danger to their community. Otherwise, it’s back to jail. Crist says this would create a new layer of accountability…

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to…have greater accountability of the criminal justice system to make sure that we do the first order of business…which is, according to the founding fathers, ensure domestic tranquility…make sure that our children and our families are safe.”

The proposal would mean $50 million in administrative costs…Crist calls that a drop in the bucket compared to Florida’s $62 billion annual budget.